Used to be Illinois players and coaches sang "Illinois Loyalty" in the privacy of their locker room after winning a football game.

Now it's clear the Illini and their fans must do more. When you go 700 days without a win – the two-year anniversary of the Indiana game is a month away – an off-key rendition of a fight song won't cut it. Unless, of course, the student body sings it in the back yard of the president's house. Ten times. Starting at midnight.

He should be on the golf course, maybe on a tour of Europe, at least in the back yard sipping iced tea while the grandkids play.

But here's Lou Henson, sitting uncomfortably on metal bleachers with a pen and a notebook, watching a bunch of teen-agers run up and down a basketball court in the middle of Indianapolis, surrounded by slick-haired coaches half his age.